Monsters jumping out of a box scaring a man, draft for the print 'The Heavy Basket' (Omoi tsuzura)

Early draft for the print The Heavy Basket (Omoi tsuzura) which was published in 1892 as part of the series Collection of Thirty-six Ghosts in New Style (Shinkei sanjūrokkaisen). The circular red seal in the center is the collection seal of Mizuno Toshikata (1866–1908), Yoshitoshi’s foremost student, who probably received this work during his time in his teacher’s studio. Like most of the successful print designers, Yoshitoshi operated a studio with several students working with him at the same time. We don’t know exactly how many students he had, but his memorial stone lists 47 names. None achieved anywhere near the same fame as Yoshitoshi.